por un rato

I'm back in Mexico City for a few days, and am rapidly approaching the end of my trip. I feel good and bad about that. I do feel like it's time for me to get on the path I've chosen for myself. I feel like a constant outsider here, especially in DF. I got in a fight with a potato chip vendor the other day because he insisted on calling one of his friends who spoke English with me rather than let me order in Spanish. I very rarely get angry about anything, but that did it. I am not the most gifted navigator in the world, and have wasted at least 2 hours of my life being lost in the Zocalo of DF, over several different visits. The talk about how dangerous Mexico is right now is starting to scare me a little, especially here in DF. I feel perfectly comfortable walking around Guanajuato by myself, but as soon as the sun goes down here in DF, I had better be within a block or 2 of my house, or I've got one hand on my pepper spray. I am tired of how difficult it is to do things. I have gotten pretty good at reading the trash man's mind and anticipating his arrival, but it's just not the same as having a schedule. The weather is also starting to get on my nerves. It's HOT in the day. It's FREEZING at night. In DF, my throat hurts all the damn time because of the smog. For now, that's all the complaints I can think of.

On the positive side:
The people here are (generally) very sweet. I love people watching here. I love the uniforms the students wear. I love the white coats the pharmacy students at UNAM wear. I love feeling like I know where I'm going in the metro. I love Guanajuato. I love seeing friendly and familiar faces while walking down the street there. I love Spanish. I love the market that springs to life every Tuesday on our street. I love comida corrida and puestos and blue corn tortillas. I love nopales. I love chilaquiles. I love spending all afternoon sitting on a bench talking with a friend. I love agua de jamaica. I love jicama! I REALLY LOVE JICAMA!! I love that when I want jicama, I can find someone selling it on the street within 10 minutes wherever I am. I love watching movies in Spanish and understanding them. I love making people laugh in Spanish.

As much as I love Mexico, it's not my home. I miss being near my family. I really miss driving. I miss working (a little bit). When I get back, I'll work part time somehow, doing something involving Spanish, and I'll apply to grad school. Hopefully I'll start grad school in January. I am really excited to come back. It's been great to be here for a little while, but it's time to go home.

too comoda

Well, I am still in Guanajuato. I went back to DF for a day or so and turned right around and came back. I just absolutely love this city. How could you not? It's unreal how beautiful it is. I am still perpetually annoyed by certain little things in Mexico, but it's easy to forget about them here. I have been taking full part of the "student lifestyle" even though I am not studying at the moment... it's really not a tough life at all. There is a pretty great little community of ex-pats here. Someone we met mentioned that Guanajuato is the way San Miguel de Allende was 30 years ago. Now, San Miguel is full of retired ex-pats... these ex-pats here are in their 30s and 40s and own businesses here or teach English or have ridiculously awesome jobs that allow them to have enough money to live here for months at a time without working. Like Paul, the underwater welder who spends a month at the bottom of the ocean off the coast of Saudi Arabia, then comes back to his beautiful house in Guanajuato for 6 weeks. Tough life, no?

The plan remains the same, with some details filled in as we near my departure. I will stay in Guanajuato until Monday or Tuesday for a wedding on Saturday and a weekly barbecue on Sunday. Then it's DF for a few days, go to some of the museums I've been meaning to see there, and maybe try for a little side trip. I really want to have one last mini vacation in this mega vacation I'm in the middle of. I'm thinking about Zihuatanejo... hmm... Just put in my CouchSurfing request, so we'll see!

I am feeling pretty anxious to get back to the states, when I let myself think about it too much. I want to get started applying to schools and I want to stop being such a slacker with my endless summer thing I have going on right now. I have been checking craigslist religiously and hopefully will be able to find a quick fix to my no job, no car situation when I get back. It really has been a mega vacation and I'm glad I did it. Mexico is a wonderful place to visit, but at this point in my life, I don't want to live here. Maybe someday, but not now. I'm a guera through and through, as much as it pains me to say.